Foolish Apprentice, Valiant Swordsman
by Aldley
Summary: Yuvi, prompt inspired one-shot. Lavi is badly injured and put into the hospital wing. Kanda is desperate to be by his lover's side but their feelings are forbidden and no one is given entry, save for Bookman.


**Person A of your OTP is in the hospital after an accident and is injured to some sort of degree where Person A has to stay the night. Person B doesn't want to leave Person A alone so Person B stays by their side as long as they can to comfort Person A.**

Man Pairing: Lavi x Yuu Kanda  
Rated: T for cursing  
Trigger Warning: blood/injuries, emotional stress

* * *

People fussed over the redhaired apprentice, wrapping tourniquets around an arm and another on a leg, bandages were promptly placed over the more recently cleaned wounds. They'd even removed his sacred eyepatch to wrap the blood gushing injury to his head. Everything moved in slow motion though. In vain the man hoped that meant it wasn't real, that it was only a dream. It wasn't until Kanda view of the scene was shut away when the Head Nurse closing the door in his face that he realized they were back at the Black Order.

Hadn't they just been fighting Akuma in the nearbly city?

His hand shook in an exhausting effort to reach his own forehead. Being explosive and confused pushed the Japanese male to be set off by the door in his face. He wanted- no, _needed_- to see Lavi! Dark onyx eyes reflected the wild, blind rage within as he threw himself at the door. It was locked, but that didn't stop his efforts.

"Open the _fucking_ door! Lavi! _Lavi_!" Fists pounded intensely enough to rip the skin, but his wounds would only heal, continuing this abusive circle as their owner resumed his assalt on the wooden door that separated him from his love.

His mindless behavior was ignored, however, as the medical staff threw themselves into taking care of Lavi as intesnsely as Kanda had thrown himself into the door. Things continued in this panicked, nonsensical state until Lenalee rounded the corner. Clearly she'd run straight here, tears trailing down her face, after she'd caught news that one of her dear friends- a part of her world- was on the brink of bleeding out. Seeing Kanda this way made her normally pink flushed skin turn almost ice white. She figured that since he'd been the only one sent with Lavi on that mission, the only explaination for such wild behavior could only mean the worst.

Lenalee couldn't lose another part of her world, not even to insanity. It just wasn't an option.

"Kanda! Kanda stop!" She soared to him and desperately tried to grab hold of his arms, but her strong arms weren't a match for his wild ones. He was far too strong. Nothing could ease the stubborn male, not until his body could finally take no more of such abuse. Kanda, completely winded, fell to the floor. A helpless Lena tagged along with him.

Tiny arms clung to him with great possessiveness, the only kind she felt when her deepest nightmares seemed to be coming true. She couldn't lose either of the young men, and she felt that they were slipping away some how...

Neither of them spoke. Only the noises of her muffled crying into his shoulder made him feel connected to this world, but, otherwise- he felt nothing. Only with an exhausted body could his mind finally begin to mentally retrace the breadcrums that lead them to this hell...

They'd been sent on a more local mission- and thank heaven for that- to simply investigate rumors that sprouted about supernatural events that implied the presence of Innocence. A dark brow furrowed as it felt almost painful to try and fish for these memories. Had he been hit on the head too?

Shaking his head for a moment seemed to have made it easier to focus once better; the puzzle pieces became more clear. Yes... they'd gone down to the town, Bookman had only let Lavi go in sport of 'good practice' simply because the old man was close by should trouble happen. Akuma had come up quickly, first in the form of the human skin they'd sickenly used as sheepskin to cover their hideous forms...

That was it! Kanda gasped, making Lenalee look up at him with tear filled, and questioning, eyes.

When the akuma ran after Lavi and himself, they'd been in their human forms before they were in the shelter of the woods to shed them! That way, when the villagers did not see their friends and family members return from the trees, but only bloodstained exorcists... It was the _humans_ that had attacked them. They'd called the young exorcists murderers and grabbed onto Lavi, pulling him away before the swordsman could push them away from his lover...

"Those bastards..." Teeth grit painfully, hands soon followed their lead. Warm blood seeped through fine cuts made by his nails.

A heart wrenching cross between a sob and a cry of anguish from Lenalee called his attention back down to the clear, harsh reality of the fact that they could only wait outside in complete ignoracne to what was happening behind that door.

"Is he going to be okay, Kanda? Tell me that he- he's going to be okay..." Hiccups broke her speech.

Kanda's mouth parted, but words failed him. She was looking to him for guidance, but how could he reach for an answer? His own heart was being torn into pieces that felt so small they could easily fit through the eye of a needle. What as worse is that nobody would understand his pain. Because nobody knew.

Their love- the love between a Bookman and a soldier in a war being recorded for the clans private history books- was completely and strictly forbidden. _Absolutely_ taboo.

Though it felt pathetic, the only thing he could think to do in that moment was drape an arm around her. Bangs covered his eyes as he looked skyward in absolute pain. God, if there _was_ a God, Kanda- feeling too far gone from saving by a Being he'd denied since meeting Alma reincarnated- prayed only for Lavi's safety. For _that_ life.

How could someone so tainted, broken, and stupid like himself have the 'blessing' of not dying? Why not Lavi? He was warm, intelligent- everything the swordsman could never be. The urge to punch something had never been so overwhelming as it was in this moment...

Even though it felt like an eternity, only a few hours had passed and, one by one, people began to leave the room. Komui had even come to carry Lenalee's sleeping form to her room. She must have cried herself to sleep. Lavi had been tended to the best they could, people said before trying to persuade Kanda to retire to his own bedroom but he would refuse. He watched with jealous eyes as only Bookman had been granted visitation as the Head Nurse dismissed herself from the room, but not without flashing a tired glare at the swordsman before going on her way.

Ever loyal to his feelings for the man laying in the hospital wing, Kandal stayed in his sitting position on the floor. He refused to move from that spot, having convinced himself, in an irrational manner only a panicked lover muster, that if he did- it would mean he'd abandoned Lavi.

No, he wouldn't let another person he loved to disappear. He refused.

It was now far into the evening and his stomach protested many times already to remind him that he'd skipped both lunch and dinner. Though he'd fought it so arduously, Kanda finally fell asleep against the stone wall. A sudden creak from the old wooden door he'd practically beat down earlier made his dark eyes open slowly. They stung like a bitch.

In a sleepy daze he could see the small, shadowed form of the 'Old Panda', as his apprentice called him, leave the room. Strangely, the form seemed to stop to face him, for the briefest of moments, before turning and headed on his way. Kanda rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned before looking around. Man, his body felt so stiff...

The door was left open.

Scrambling to his feet- and almost falling- the exorcist flew into the room and dutifully went to his lover's side. Only a single, small candle was given the responsibility to illuminate the room, but even the poor lighting could show the damage that squeezed at his heart. The right top half of Lavi's head had been bandaged from a blow given by a gardening hoe, there was no doubt his bandaged left arm and leg were bloodied and broken from the skillful blow a miner took at him with a pick axe... Remembering it so clearly now pulled an unnatural sound from Kanda.

Why couldn't they have grabbed onto him instead? He could have healed by now, and-

"H-Heya, hot stuff... hn-!"

Kanda stared at the wincing man in bewilderment. How could he be so playful? Especially _now_ of all times?!

"Don't move, you idiot! You'll only cause more problems." Contrary to the cold verbage expected of him, Kanda's eyes were warm, brimming with tears. He cupped Lavi's unharmed cheek gently; a loving gesture.

"What? Ya mean this? Nothin' but a flesh wound."

His voice sounded too weak for the other's liking, but the raven haired couldn't fight with him. Not now.

"Baka usagi." Kanda tried to control his emotions the best he could, and though he refrained from crying he couldn't help but lean in and, ever so tenderly, place a kiss on soft, bruised lips.

The kiss was lacking in it's normal enthusiasm, due to Lavi's current state, but never lacking in love. A damned tear spilled onto the apple of Kanda's cheek and he broke their kiss, but kept their lips close. Their breaths mingled as forehead met in a gentle touch.

"Shit! I'm sorry. I should have been _faster_..." His gruff voice took on the gentlest of tones, as it always did for the redhead during their forbidden, affectionate meetings in private.

A lone green eye stared into his lover's dark hues with purpose. "Don't go doin' that, Yuu. There's never been a situation like that, ya know? We didn't really know what t'do. _Nobody_ could've."

Kanda pulled away without a reply but still stared at the injured male. Lavi gave a delicate smile," I'm just glad I don't have t'be the one to tell Chief we don't know where the Innocence went. You're stuck with that one."

At least that got them both to smile, even if it was only a faint one.

"You're a moron. You know that?" Feigned annoyance.

"Must be from the bump I got to my head. Maybe if I'm lucky, you're the kind that goes findin' facial scars sexy," Lavi joked dryly. After being tended to by so many people, a long talk from Bookman, and one hell of a muttering from an irritated Nurse- apparently Kanda's knocks hadn't gone completely ignored after all- the hammer-weilder wanted nothing more than the closeness of his boyfriend. "Wanna lay down with me... please?"

No sooner had a pale hand gone to reach for him, Kanda instantly moved to lay at the other's side. It turned out to be quite an awkward maneuver for them though.

"You need to move over more so I don't sit on your injuries. Baka usagi!" Concern and scolding overpowered the anger in his bark. It made Lavi smile goofily but it was still tired.

"Alright, alright! Just help me move then. It's kinda hard to on my own right now." Lavi put on his best puppy dog face. It was unnecessary though, his love would have done anything for him in that moment, at least, after shaking his head in feigned disbelief. He scooted the taller male over with great caution before climbing under the covers.

The usagi nuzzled his head into Kanda's chest and inhaled the comforting scent of his sweat, lotus blossoms, and soap. The gesture was answered by the darker haired leaning his cheek gently to rest on top of fluffy red-orange hair.

Even though it was difficult to see the one he loved so pale and bruising terribly, at least Lavi was alive. Kanda was thankful that- for whatever reason- Bookman had allowed him this visit. Whether it meant there would be questioning in the morning, so be it. In the true fashion of a warrior he would face it boldly and head on while the apprentice rested. For now, his only concern was to be with his love and care for him; at least, until Head Nurse would no doubt pull him from the bed by his ear and drag him all the way to his room.

It was more than worth it, though.

"I love ya, Yuu." The other's voice sounded on the verge of sleep. Thank goodness. Lavi certainly needed it.

Kanda kissed the crown of the young man's head before gingerly snuggling into him again. "I love you too... idiot."

A light chuckle was the last thing heard in the room before they both drifted off into sleep. Neither were worried about tomorrow- they were together and _safe_. That was more than enough.


End file.
